The Vine

Senior Boys Netball

Last week our Senior Boys Netball team, along with several other male and female teams representing Christian College, competed in the preliminary rounds of the Victorian School Championships. The College has built a reputation for being ‘the team to beat’ in the Senior Boys division at these Championships, having made six Grand Finals over the past seven years, including winning four State Titles. The strength of our team is aided by the number of boys who are keen to be involved, having over 50 boys trial for the 20 positions available across the Senior and Intermediate teams. Boys who trial and are selected for the senior team understand that it requires a commitment to early morning training sessions each week, knowing that success at this tournament does not come without hard work. The team that travelled to Melbourne last week were arguably the best prepared of any boys team the College has sent to the tournament in recent years, and so there was a level of excitement and expectation leading into the first match. Games are made up of two 8-minute halves, and so there is little room for error and little time to make up for mistakes that may be made on court – victory requires not only skill, but composure and consistency. After a shaky start in the opening game, the boys steadied and were dominant from that point on. The team conceded 6 goals to 9 in the first match (being down by a goal at half-time), but only allowed a further 9 goals to be scored against them for the rest of the day, whilst scoring 44 more themselves, progressing through to the Finals Day undefeated. The results, in dominant fashion, allude to a balanced team right across the court. Our defenders were almost impenetrable, our goalers were reliable, and our mid-court was able to win the ball back and deliver it cleanly through all parts of the court. The finals will be held on Thursday September 8, where the boys will look to secure a fifth State Title for the College, and go back-to-back in the process.